Today the Wyandotte County Sheriff’s Department and Fraternal Order of Police dedicated a memorial to Sheriff’s deputies who died in the line of duty.
In a ceremony under sunny skies on the Wyandotte County Courthouse lawn, the monument was unveiled. It is across 7th Street from the Kansas City, Kan., Police Department memorial.
A large crowd attended the unveiling of the monument, and afterwards, a barbecue fundraiser was held for the family of slain Kansas City, Kan., Police Detective Brad Lancaster. In attendance at the ceremony were Deputy Scott Wood, who was shot while in uniform at a convenience store last year, as well as dignitaries including U.S. Rep. Kevin Yoder, R-3rd Dist., Sheriff Don Ash, Mayor Mark Holland, and the Unified Government Commission.
The Sheriff’s Department memorial lists the names of seven Sheriff’s Department officers who died in the line of duty.
Sgt. David Toland, who did a lot of work on the memorial, read the names of the deceased on the memorial: William Conway, May 1896; Charles Lukens, December 1909; Frank Rohrbach, August 1939; Maurice Bedell, August 1954; Wesley Walden, November 1955; Thomas Mendina, March 1956 and James Reynolds, August 1984.
“I hope these are the last,” Sgt. Toland said.
Rick Whitby, retired chief deputy, today recalled the last day of James Reynolds’ life.
“I relieved him of duty here at the jail,” Whitby recalled, while holding back tears. “When he left, he got on his motorcycle, got in pursuit and got killed. I was the last one to talk to him.”
In 1954, Maurice Bedell was Whitby’s grandfather’s partner in the Sheriff’s Department. He was taking two robbery suspects to jail. Before there were any rules about how to handcuff prisoners, a prisoner came over the seat and got his grandfather’s gun and shot Bedell, Whitby said. The prisoner forced his grandfather to drive to a cemetery at Quindaro, kicked both deputies out and left Bedell to die. There were no radios at that time, and his grandfather held Bedell until he died.
“So I have personal ties to this thing,” Whitby said.
“That’s the reason I worked so hard for it, but I didn’t do it by myself,” he said. There was a lot of help from Kansas City, Kan., and the FOP (which has two chapters, one for the Police Department and one for the Sheriff’s Department here).
The Sheriff’s Department FOP has been working on this project for many years. Whitby credited Chuck Morris and David Toland, the last two FOP presidents, who worked hard for this memorial.
“It is a powerful witness and it says a lot about our community when we see the show of support for our first responders, not just on days like this but on every day,” Mayor Mark Holland said. He said he was proud of the way the community has come together to support one another.
The most difficult days as mayor have been the days when an officer has been shot, Mayor Holland said. He introduced Deputy Scott Wood, who was shot last year, and invited the audience to honor him for his service.
“I hope that the names that are on here, we remember forever, and I pray to God we never add another name,” Mayor Holland said.
Rep. Yoder praised Sheriff Don Ash for building a community spirit here.
“To the officers that are here today, and all those out there serving us this very minute, we say thank you,” Rep. Yoder said. He added that everyone was devastated by the tragedy of Detective Brad Lancaster’s death on May 9.
There have been 38 fallen police officers this year, Rep. Yoder said. During the past 10 years, more than 1,400 have died, he said.
“We’ll not only think about them, we’ll think about the families left behind,” he said. “There’s really no way to fully repay that debt,” he added, “but we try to.”
The monument, Sheriff Ash said, reminds people not only of those who gave their lives, but also of those who are currently serving in law enforcement.
To see a video of the unveiling, visit https://www.facebook.com/WyandotteDailyNews/.
